Gathering Leadership Momentum Across Great Distances: Creating
an Online Community of Practice Slide 2 Kept group going for 2+
years! ACRL/LAMA Virtual Institute Poster Presentation Article for
MPLA Newsletter Conference reunions Italy!!! Some of the cool
things weve done. Slide 3 MPLA Academic Cooperative Formation Slide
4 Although we have different areas of expertise, we all work in
academia and are benefited by the insight of our peers. -Heather We
have a great pool of expertise and experience to work with. -Jen
Slide 5 Slide 6 Want to Start Your Own Community of Practice? 1.
Find a group of people with a shared interest. 2. Determine how
often you want or need to meet. 3. Brainstorm on possible topics,
ask for topic leaders and set up a schedule. Slide 7 4. Establish a
community leader. 5. Decide on a technology platform. 6. Once you
get the group up & running, meet several times then EVALUATE
the technology and group cohesion. Want to Start Your Own Community
of Practice? Slide 8 Technology We Use We use: Email Google Groups
Skype Doodle Slide 9 Easy and FREE solution for conference calls
Live discussions = personal connection Skype Slide 10 Getting
started is simple. Slide 11 What you Need Headset Skype Account
Friends/colleagues names who are on Skype Webcam (optional) Slide
12 The monthly conference call keeps our network connected on a
personal level. There is a spontaneous and conversational approach
to in-person communication that spurs creativity in a way that
formal writing simply does not. -Heather Slide 13 An online event
scheduling and polling software Especially helpful for coordinating
multiple schedules over different time zones!
http://www.doodle.ch/main.html Doodle Slide 14 Google Groups Slide
15 Discussion Section Members Files Pages Slide 16 Discussions
Slide 17 Pages Slide 18 Files Slide 19 Management Tasks Slide 20
Challenges Slide 21 TIME!! Group Dynamics Desire to bond Sense of
belonging Coordinating schedules Helping others be involved New
Technology Selecting Topics Slide 22 Areas for Improvement Articles
Monthly conference call Technology Group participation Group
enhancement of MPLA experience Presentation Collaboration Continued
Participation Slide 23 The size of our group is ideal because of
our busy schedules. If it were smaller, those who arent as active
from time to time would be more noticeable. If it were larger, it
would be more difficult to coordinate our calls. -Karen Slide 24
Successful Collaboration 1.Set aside TIME 2. Youre exposed to new
ideas on a regular basis 3. Implement new ideas & best
practices raised through discussion. 4. Poll for best practices on
a given topic Slide 25 The possibilities are endless. Groups can be
structured around any imaginable library topic! Leadership
Assessment Information literacy Collection building What are your
ideas? Slide 26 MPLA Academic Cooperative Jennie Burroughs,
Government Documents & Reference Librarian, The University of
Montana [email protected] [email protected]
Erin Dini-Davis, Reference Librarian, Utah State University,
[email protected] [email protected] JaNae Kinikin, Science
Librarian, Weber State University, [email protected]
[email protected] Karen Neurohr, Associate Professor, Oklahoma
State University, [email protected]
[email protected] Holly Phillips, Electronic Resources and
Access Coordinator, University of New Mexico,
[email protected] [email protected] Robert Russell,
Electronic Resources Coordinator and University Archivist, Northern
State University, [email protected] Heather
Smith-Collins, Curriculum Resources Librarian, Washburn University,
[email protected] Danielle Theiss-White, General
Reference Coordinator, Kansas State University, [email protected]
Slide 27 Photos from the Photos provided by: Jennie Burroughs Karen
Neurohr Heather Smith- Collins Ghost Ranch, New Mexico (USA) Slide
28 Questions? Contact me at: Erin Dini Davis Utah State University
Logan, Utah, USA [email protected]
